Happy GM's day! Over on RPGNow.com, you'll find all of our books on sale. Here, I only put one book on sale, but it's a super great deal. You can get Abandon All Hope for only $2.95. That's like 75% off!

Abandon All Hope is a science-fiction/supernatural horror role-playing game in which players take on the role of the condemned aboard an automated spaceship that has plunged over the edge of the known universe. Here, in another dimension, they must contend with escaped lunatics, robotic controllers, and monstrous aliens who feed off of their fear and suffering. Former convicts are now the heroes, and every day is a fight for survival. For those who seek it there will be chances to escape, to gain power, embrace damnation, or seek redemption...

In addition to worrying about demons, the pathetic inhabitants of the lost prison ship Gehenna must also contend with their robotic controllers, the vast legion of “custodians”. Designed and programmed for a wide range of missions, the custodians were responsible for monitoring the population’s behavior, seeing to their needs, enforcing the restrictions and regulations of the prison, tracking down escapees, confiscating contraband, and, when necessary, carrying out punishment for offenders who continued to endanger their fellow prisoners through their unrepentant crimes.

Let's look at one example:

ENFORCER
Enforcers are the Gehenna's equivalent of prison guards. Each Enforcer is an enormous armored contraption that hovers along on a gravity wave emitter at a height of seven to ten feet. The task of the ship's Enforcers is to respond to unlawful activity reported by Narcs and Monitors and deal with the problem. Envisioned as peacekeepers and law officers, Enforcers were given surprisingly simple and strict programming, so that when they are called on to act, they do so decisively (and often lethally).

Prowess

10

Social

1

Reflexes

5

Intimidation

10

Wits

3

Movement

8

Willpower

7

Health

75

ENFORCER SPECIAL RULES

Large Size: This machine is larger than a man and takes up four spaces (square) on a standard battle grid.

Authoritarian: To face down an enforcer, an unarmed human opponent must succeed at a Despair check. If she fails she is unable to resist the custodian's commands.

Cattle Prod: An enforcer is equipped with a cattle prod. Its internal power source allows it to use this weapon indefinitely.

Sonic Beamer: An enforcer is equipped with a sonic beamer that affects not only the target, but anyone adjacent to the target as well. Its internal power source allows it to use this weapon indefinitely.

Armor: Due to its metal construction a monitor reduces the damage from all physical attacks by -4 (minimum 0).

Call Backup: Instead of attacking, an enforcer can communicate a distress call to a range of 500 ft. which will draw the attention of all nearby Enforcers to its aid.

There are many terrors and foes for the prisoners of Gehenna to encounter: environmental hazards, harden prisoners, robotic custodians, and lastly "demons."

Gehenna has wandered into a dimension of unimaginable terror, a place so far beyond the outer limit of the known universe that it can only be described as “Hell itself“. Still as yet unexplained, the hatred, fear, guilt, and madness of the inmates aboard causes the frequent manifestation of monstrous beings that are hideous to behold and terrible to confront. These creatures have come to be known as “demons”.

The demons of Abandon All Hope come in three varies linked directly to Ludovico Gauges: Despair, Guilt, and Insanity. Let's look at one from the Despair family:

DEATH SLITHER

Seen in the shadows of an abandoned cell or moving through a darkened passage, a Death Slither might be mistaken for a snake as it slinks sinuously across the floor, moving side to side with quick and powerful swings of its tail. This strange form of demon resembles the skull and spine of a human cadaver, hung with rotten flesh and patches of hair, with white, dead eyes and a bisected lower jaw rimmed with jagged, alien teeth. Death Slithers are typically lone hunters, stalking the darkness of deep halls and corridors for isolated victims, playing cat-and-mouse with potential prey. Since they can literally "taste" their victims' growing fear, these creatures appear to delight in tormenting prey before an actual confrontation. When the sensation of intense fear becomes too much for the demon to resist any longer, it finally ambushes its prey, moving in for the satisfying climax of the kill.

Typical Manifestation: When manifested, a Death Slither generally reanimates scattered bones, which slowly come together to take on a serpentine shape and life of their own.

Prowess

6

Social

1

Reflexes

9

Intimidation

6

Wits

3

Movement

6

Willpower

3

Health

10

DEATH SLITHER SPECIAL RULES

Small Size: This creature is small. Two creatures of its kind can occupy the same square on a standard battle grid.

Frightening: Characters beholding a death slither must make a Despair check or accumulate +1D2 Despair.

Hopelessness: Hope points cannot be used during encounters with this creature.

Bite: A death slither's bite attack does 1D6 Health damage.

Tail Lash: Instead of biting, a death slither can attack with its tail, using Reflexes instead of Prowess for its attack roll; a successful hit does 1D3 Health damage and also ignores all Armor (except for a helmet, which offers normal protection).

Latch: If a death slither's bite is successful, it latches onto the target. It must maintain this hold (i.e. remain alive) for three turns to use its Choke ability (see below).

Choke: If a death slither remains latched onto a target for three turns, on the fourth turn it automatically deals 1D4 Health damage; if a natural 4 is rolled, another D4 is rolled and added to the total (and again if another 4 is rolled, etc.). A victim killed by this ability is decapitated (no Recovery possible) and the head will rise as a death slither in 1D10 turns.

Abandon All Hope takes place on the prison ship, so it makes sense that gangs place a significant role the setting. There is a small chapter dedicated to this topic. It gives some basic guidelines for handling gangs as well as advancements should the players choose to join one. It also details the top 12 gangs of Gehenna. Here's one of:

JAILHOUSE GIANTS (Pre-/Post-Perdition)
The “Jailhouse Giants” were one of the more formidable factions aboard the ship before Perdition, appealing to a diverse slice of the prison population - namely, those victimized, hounded, or otherwise ostracized by the other gangs. Formed in response to attacks on minorities, the weak, and the isolated, the Jailhouse Giants gave a voice (and violent support when needed) to those prisoners who, alone, had very little chance of surviving. The ’Giants, being relatively small, earned a nasty reputation for well-coordinated attacks on other gangs, clandestine assassinations, etc. that ultimately set them up as a respectable gang few gangs took on lightly.

Probationary: To join the Jailhouse Giants one must possess the Tortured trait.Junior Standing: All members of Junior Standing gain the Boxing trait for free (if the character already has this trait, she gains 50 BPs instead). The ’Giants make sure their members can fight for themselves.Senior Standing: Senior members gain their choice of either +1 Prowess or Intimidation.Inner Circle: Inner Circle members gain a +100 Build Point bonus whenever they complete a mission that furthers their gang’s goals.

One of the last things a player does during Characters Creation is pick a Personal Goal. Here's an abbreviated excerpt:

A Personal goals reflect either your character’s own ambitions, or a driving force behind her actions, or simply something she hopes to accomplish before she dies.

....

Personal goals do more than give flavor to your character; depending on your personal goal, certain actions during the game may lead to bonus Build Points if you act in accordance to your goal.

There are five goal: Redemption, Power, Survival, Escape, and Damnation. Here's one example:

REDEMPTION
A character seeking redemption searches for a way to amend for her crimes, a proverbial “cleaning of the slate”, through embracing a new sense of honor and self-sacrifice. A character with this personal goal sees the situation on the Gehenna as a chance to save fellow prisoners, protect others, and generally make up for the evils of her sordid past.

Examples:
• Guilty of terrible murders, you have come to seek redemption, if not in God’s eyes than at least in your fellow man’s. You try to protect your comrades and, if necessary, will die for them.
• Having been party to the slaughter of innocents during the last war, and condemned for your service, you have come to regret the death and destruction once waged by your hands. You search for redemption leads you to care for the weak, the innocent, and fight for a common good.

Role-Playing Suggestions: Be a leader. Lead by example; be brave, inspire heroics in others. Do the right thing when you get the chance, even to your own detriment. Share with others, gain their trust.

BP Awards: Characters with this goal gain bonus BP awards for saving the lives of other characters, making “good” moral choices, sacrificing themselves for the greater good, etc.